The Adventures of "Fish Guy" (Superhero fiction)

[Hermit]

I apologize that took so long. I think it might be a good place to 'end' that novel.

 

And no I don't mean that sourly. I enjoyed writing it when I could actually light a fire under my butt and when my mental health was good

 

I hope others were entertained

[BoloOfEarth]

I enjoyed it all very much, and I agree it's a good place, and way, to end it.

 

As to the apologies, I'm just happy you completed it, and that you were willing to share it all with us out of the goodness of your heart.  

 

Kudos, Hermit, on yet another wonderful piece of writing.

 

Dare we hope for a Part Four, with the wedding, eventually?  (You can't see it, but I'm doing some pretty good puppy dog eyes right now.)

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

The honeymoon is his NaNoWriMo project. 

 

[Foxiekins]

I wonder if the wedding will be in the midst of a running battle...  They should have it conducted by Father Thomas Marelli...  (He's from a long ago campaign, and is both a Roman Catholic Priest, and a Vampire...)

[BoloOfEarth]

I'm re-reading the first Fish Guy book and decided to introduce the Miscreants in my current Champions campaign.  The problem is, I don't know who all seven members are.  

 

I know about Back Block (female speedster), Body Suit (female with tattoos that come to life), Outcry (male sonic projector), and Robo-Raptor (male, cyborg with metal wings).

 

Mention is made of a male in powered armor, and a female that Pinprick shrunk and Lady Obsidian encased in a force bubble.  Presumably one Miscreant was taken out by Arctic Fox, but no mention is made of that character at all.

 

Hermit, did you have them all named and general powers decided upon?  If so, did that information survive your past computer problems and data losses?  And would you be willing to share that info?

 

I figure I can create my own versions of the characters (particularly to balance them against the seven PCs in my game) but wanted to at least pay homage to your characters.  

 

Thanks in advance for any info you're willing and able to share.

[Hermit]

2 hours ago, BoloOfEarth said:

I'm re-reading the first Fish Guy book and decided to introduce the Miscreants in my current Champions campaign.  The problem is, I don't know who all seven members are.  

 

I know about Back Block (female speedster), Body Suit (female with tattoos that come to life), Outcry (male sonic projector), and Robo-Raptor (male, cyborg with metal wings).

 

Mention is made of a male in powered armor, and a female that Pinprick shrunk and Lady Obsidian encased in a force bubble.  Presumably one Miscreant was taken out by Arctic Fox, but no mention is made of that character at all.

 

Hermit, did you have them all named and general powers decided upon?  If so, did that information survive your past computer problems and data losses?  And would you be willing to share that info?

 

I figure I can create my own versions of the characters (particularly to balance them against the seven PCs in my game) but wanted to at least pay homage to your characters.  

 

Thanks in advance for any info you're willing and able to share.

 

 

Wow. It's a been a long while.. at least two lap top deaths ago . BUT I may have some notes and will dig them up .

I confess I've been tempted to publish the Fish Guy novels, or even make some gaming supplements on them but at the speed I move neither would be soon even if I did get the lead out. The nice thing about the Miscreants is they probably have a pretty fluid membership. If you're super powered and can draw fans there is probably an opening for you. If you start to be a drag on their hits, you might get voted off by your team mates. So the concept allows some fluidity.

 

But give me a day and I'll see what notes I can dig up on the 'official' members. To be fair , most were quite sketchy

[Hermit]

On 8/26/2022 at 9:15 AM, BoloOfEarth said:

I'm re-reading the first Fish Guy book and decided to introduce the Miscreants in my current Champions campaign.  The problem is, I don't know who all seven members are.  

 

I know about Back Block (female speedster), Body Suit (female with tattoos that come to life), Outcry (male sonic projector), and Robo-Raptor (male, cyborg with metal wings).

 

Mention is made of a male in powered armor, and a female that Pinprick shrunk and Lady Obsidian encased in a force bubble.  Presumably one Miscreant was taken out by Arctic Fox, but no mention is made of that character at all.

 

Hermit, did you have them all named and general powers decided upon?  If so, did that information survive your past computer problems and data losses?  And would you be willing to share that info?

 

I figure I can create my own versions of the characters (particularly to balance them against the seven PCs in my game) but wanted to at least pay homage to your characters.  

 

Thanks in advance for any info you're willing and able to share.

I found some notes and tried to put them together for you, but then I got lazy and handed the job to Pin Prick.

"Okay, Pinprick here, I understand there's a request for New Samaritan files on the super villains known as the Miscreants. Request made by... " the sound of tapping online "One Bolo Of Earth? Bolos? They'll never catch on. Stick with a bow and you have the option of a Bolo Arrow maybe. Anywho, where was I? Yeah yeah, the run down."

 

"First thing you gotta understand is that the Miscreants fancy themselves a Reality TV style show. They stream on the Darkweb or whatever the latest term for it is. There are enough troubled people out there that are willing to pay to view the chaos and crimes they commit. Heck, I've heard a Miscreant claim they're just giving the people what they want. They also sell merchandise of themselves. As you might guess, most Miscreants are motivated by a desire for not just money but infamy. They follow trends, and cater to their fan-dumbs. Yeah , you heard that right. i got little respect for the folks cheering them on."

 

There's a sound of a beer being opened, then more typing around "Now, of course, this affects their style, if you can call it style. You can actually get voted off their team if you're too violent for the viewers, too lame, or too ugly. Happened to one guy named Scruffian, who did not have enough 'sex appeal' and got kicked off the metaphorical island before his sexually assaulting ass got burned by Trailblazer. It's been observed a few of Miscreants incorporate gothic or punk elements in their costumes to add to the 'shock sensibilities' but it's just an attempt to stand out and show how edgy they think they are."

 

"Okay, here's a summary of some members you wanted, sorry I got distracted by the build up:"

 

"Outcry- I've been told if someone tried to mix a Victorian gentleman's outfit, Punk Rock and Glam metal  and got the formula WRONG they'd dress like Outcry. As his name might suggest he has sonic powers. He screams loud, strong, and powerfully. He's durable enough, but not super strong. Redirect his face like Eel did and you can make sure he doesn't hit any soft targets. Outcry wants that fame, and seems focused on getting loved enough to sell his Merch."

 

"Bodysuit has various powers associated with the many many tattoos all over her body.  It's probably mystical in natre. She can create whips out of the ink, a dragon head that sets fire to young rookie heroes, and so on.  Now  I got a mouth on me, but Bodysuit is rude, crude,  and has no respect for anyone especially heroes. She'll try to trash you and provoke you, but Arctic Fox tells me she can't take what she dishes out when it comes to trash talk. So provoking her in return is pretty easy. She's also quite agile so if you so if you've got a way to affect the area she's in and do a wide spread of some attack without hurting a citizen, go for it."

 

"Back Block, as her name implies, likes striking from behind. She's actually a more effective team player in that regard than most of them, known to knock someone down from behind and set the hero up for an easier hit for one of her fellow Miscreants. That and the Roller Derby aspects to her costume all form to lend credit that she really did partake in that sport before joining 'the show'. As speedsters go though, she's not the quickest, and she's not the most perceptive. I mean, if a flying guy in a cape can take her 'off guard' anyone can."

 

"Robo-Raptor gets my vote for lamest name. A cyborg with metal wings, strength and durability enhancements, artificial eyes that let him see both in Infra red and at a distance, you'd think he'd do better.  He tends to think with his claws though, and swinging wild was no match for Tornado's superior flight speed and martial arts. For all his fancy tech parts, Robo-Raptor is a brawler and if he has a ranged offense, it's not been reported."

 

"Rekt is one I helped take out. Now she's not that durable for someone whose power is superior strength, but like Bodysuit was pretty nimble. I would rate her weaker than Eel by a notch which is still bonebreakingly strong, and when I hit her with a magic arrow that reduced her size as well as her muscle, she was easily contained in one of Lady O's force orbs. Her costume is subject to change but she almost always goes with some element of strategically torn denim and instead of a mask she wears oversized mirror shades, which I haven't tested but I suppose might give her protection from intense illumination"

 

"Speaking of idiots willing to tangle with Lady O, the Miscreants have a powered armor type who calls himself 'High Score'. Some where inside that Predator movie meets Starship Trooper get up, is a neckbeard basement dweller who thought his 'uber leet skills' would make him a bad ass. To be fair, if he'd gone after anyone of us but the most powerful member on the team (Second after Lady Obsidian being yours truly),  the jerk would have been more effective. Lady Obsidian says he had good accuracy, and a variety of options in his gear including energy grenades, focused blasters, and even a net launcher. That said, his suit was not as sealed as it should have been. Oh he had a gas mask and breather, but where there's gaps in an armor, there's opportunity. And Lady O owned him as soon as she figured out where to apply her own force energies."

 

"The last one I got on official record is Undying Swag. Yeah that's his villain name. You ever see that guy in the corner of the room with the hair over one eye, the angry man pout, and that attitude that he expects every woman in the room to flock to him? That's Undying Swag. He's a pretty boy who looks like the villain in an anime. Undying actually does live up to his name. He's a martial artist, not a bad one, with one power. He regenerates like nobody's business. it seems half the initial damage seals right up near instantly, the other takes but a minute or two. With this power, he got a little cocky. Turns out when you're frozen in a block of ice, it really doesn't matter how mighty the man pout, or how much your cells quickheal; You're not going anywhere. He tried his sexy smoulder and flex on Arctic Fox, and she explained her utter lack of interest."

 

"Now this is outdated intel of known members, so don't come whining to us if it turns out they've wised up and gotten an archer who kicks all your asses. Do you have an archer? If not.. i regret to inform you your super team sucks and you should correct that."
"Pinprick out"

 

[Hermit]

Ack Lot of errors there. Pinprick is clearly slapdash in his reports. Darn him.

[assault]

He's right about the archer thing though.

One of the tragedy of Australian superteams is that we tend to have boomerang throwers instead.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Nothing wrong with that! 

 

Not as cool as archers, but very stylish. 

 

[BoloOfEarth]

I loved Pinprick's report and will use it with proper reverence.  

 

Oh, and the hero team in question?  No archer = major suckage.  Maybe one day they'll learn.

[Nekkidcarpenter]

If it doesn't have an archer it's a sidekick team not a hero team.  

 

[BoloOfEarth]

Okay, so I finally got the Miscreants written up for my Champions campaign, and thought I'd share them here.  Note that my world's version of PRIMUS is called PRIME, and that characters started at 315 points. (Well, 300 points plus up to 15 additional for picture, background, and NPCs.  Since I do full writeups for my villains, I give the villains the full 15 extra points.)  I try to keep the villains at the same power level as the heroes, hence why the Miscreants are all 373 total points.  Also, I allowed the PCs to have 5 of their base 60 Complication points come from five 1-point Quirks (brazenly stolen from GURPS), and always do that with the villains.  (I find it rounds them out nicely.)

 

My apologies in advance to Hermit for any major divergence these are from the Miscreants in his world, or if the character pics aren't at all how he sees his characters.  Also, I decided to do the text write-ups (Background, Personality, Powers/Tactics, and Appearance) as if from one long briefing from Pinprick, so I also apologize for any places where I mis-characterized the diminutive archer.

Miscreants.pdf

[Hermit]

I am both amused and impressed

 

[L. Marcus]

Amessed.

[Hermit]

I should give a few more comments after what was obviously a lot of good work..

Bolo, I think you got Pinprick's "voice" just fine! Lines like "They can’t coordinate their own clothes, let
alone their attacks." fit dead on.

 

You also deserve props for fleshing out the various miscreants back stories and more. I mean, you really put some meat on those barebones to put it mildly. Given how little info you really had on Rekt and some of the other members that were basically one liners, it's pretty impressive. You made sure each Miscreant was shown as unpleasant want to be celebreties, and that's pretty much what ninety percent of them are...

 

Though, if I may drift a bit, I did consider having at least one hero out there who has an origin as wanting to join the Miscreants at first, only to end up being repulsed when they really get to know the team and guilt sets it.

 

Not sure I have a favorite of who you worked on  to be honest, but all seem very punchable thanks to your work

 

 

[BoloOfEarth]

2 hours ago, Hermit said:

Though, if I may drift a bit, I did consider having at least one hero out there who has an origin as wanting to join the Miscreants at first, only to end up being repulsed when they really get to know the team and guilt sets it.

 

Hmmm...  that's an idea - have a member of the Miscreants who is actually redeemable, having their doubts, and the heroes might turn to their side.  I might add another member to the team.  Since I currently have seven players, an 8th villain isn't too overpowering, and if the players see the opportunity, they might actually turn the tables on the villains.

 

Beyond that, thanks for the kind words.  I had a lot of fun writing them up.  And I liked having all of the info (except the direct quotes from the villains) being one extended briefing by Pinprick.  He is an awesome character.

[BoloOfEarth]

Okay, I added a new Miscreant (Red Robin Hood).  Sorry, Pinprick, but they have an archer now (kinda sorta).

 

Miscreants.pdf

 

Edited to add:  I updated the PDF - it occurred to me that since the new member wasn't mentioned in the Sammies' run-in with the Miscreants in the first book, I should reword what Pinprick had to say so he says that he hadn't seen her in person but saw video of her afterward.  

Edited April 4, 2023 by BoloOfEarth

[Hermit]

Nice.

Though I should say, as I hope to eventually get these published somewhere if I can, I can't use your ideas. Not exactly to be sure.

 

I don't mean that cruelly.  I am glad it's inspired you!

[BoloOfEarth]

1 hour ago, Hermit said:

Nice.

Though I should say, as I hope to eventually get these published somewhere if I can, I can't use your ideas. Not exactly to be sure.

 

I don't mean that cruelly.  I am glad it's inspired you!

 

Oh, I didn't expect them to become canon in the Fish-Guy-verse.  I just wanted to share them because I had fun writing them up, and also to check whether I had Pinprick's wording okay.  Though if there is anything in there you wish to use, feel free.  I make no claim to ownership at all.

 

I plan to use the Miscreants (well, my version) in my next Champions adventure, set in San Francisco.  (In my game world, superpowers have only been around a few years; the government just revamped Alcatraz to be a super-prison, and I'm planning a prison riot / jail break.  The uncaptured members of the two villain groups planning the jail break have convinced the Miscreants to pull their normal schtick in nearby San Jose, to draw the heroes out of town and buy them time to get things rolling at Alcatraz before the heroes can return to town.)

[Hermit]

29 minutes ago, BoloOfEarth said:

 

Oh, I didn't expect them to become canon in the Fish-Guy-verse.  I just wanted to share them because I had fun writing them up, and also to check whether I had Pinprick's wording okay.  Though if there is anything in there you wish to use, feel free.  I make no claim to ownership at all.

 

I plan to use the Miscreants (well, my version) in my next Champions adventure, set in San Francisco.  (In my game world, superpowers have only been around a few years; the government just revamped Alcatraz to be a super-prison, and I'm planning a prison riot / jail break.  The uncaptured members of the two villain groups planning the jail break have convinced the Miscreants to pull their normal schtick in nearby San Jose, to draw the heroes out of town and buy them time to get things rolling at Alcatraz before the heroes can return to town.)

I envy your players! Sounds like a blast

[Hermit]

Okay. Barring RL intrusions, I hope to partake of November's National Novel Writing Month.

And, I thought, as I've neglected Caleb and crew; maybe it would be time to dust them off again with an anthology of short stories. The current idea is each short story comes not from Fish Guy's perspective, but one of the other super heroes around him. It will be about the time as the days around the wedding.

 

But I'm not sure which ones I should focus on. Between the old Sammies and the newbloods, I can't possibly get them all. I'm expecting about five to six stories, roughly, to hit that 50,000 mark.

 

So if you are reading this and have enjoyed Eel's tales so far, and don't mind; please let me know who your top three preferences for which characters points of view you'd like to see in a short story. It will give me time to plan and plot (I use the term laughably) ahead before November. I can't promise they'll be the ideal short story you were hoping for. You may want to see Pinprick in an exciting battle for his life only to find out the story is about him getting the perfect gift for "Fish Guy" and the soon to be "Mrs. Fish Guy" .  Perhaps you enjoy highly accurate scientific jargon  so push for Lady Obsidian, a super genius far surpassing any coyote, only to find I make a short story about the ultimate team leader challenge- Bureaucratic paperwork. This may not end well for anyone.

 

But I'd like to give it a try, so please, three picks of PoVs you might be most interested in.

 

Many thanks

 

 

[BoloOfEarth]

Hmmm...  I'd say Pinprick is one of my favorite characters in the FishGuyVerse, so I'd nominate him.  Even if he's picking out a gift, it should be entertaining.  (Hey, maybe he'd have his son along!)

 

I think we can count on Lawnmower Boy to nominate Pogo, so I'm going to go with Aspirant in the hopes of getting a two-fer.  (They're just so cute together!)

 

And I think I'd like to see something on Brazen.  We haven't really seen much on her since she got her rockin' bod, and I think her viewpoint would be unique on most things mortal.

 

 

[Foxiekins]

On 9/30/2022 at 8:31 AM, Nekkidcarpenter said:

If it doesn't have an archer it's a sidekick team not a hero team.  

 

Teen Titans...  The original sidekick team...  They had an Archer...

[BoloOfEarth]

BTW, I ran my players against the Miscreants, to great success.  The Miscreants were convinced to pull a job in a city a ways out from San Francisco, to draw the heroes out of town so members of several supervillain teams could attack the newly-opened Alcatraz super-prison to break their teammates out. The heroes "found out" the Miscreants were hanging around nearby (one of the other supervillains called in a tip to PRIMUS) and the hero team got a briefing from Pinprick - who proceeded to irritate the heroes by calling their team "lame" for not having an archer.

 

The Miscreants were great, in that they irritated the #*!& out of my players.  The heroes figured out that Red Robin Hood didn't really fit with the other Miscreants, and they convinced her to work with them to help put down the would-be prison break, in exchange for the heroes putting in a good word with the authorities on her behalf.

 

One of the players ran Red Robin Hood, and by the end of the fight they were of the opinion that archers really do rock.  It was an awesome game.  Thank you for lending me the Miscreants, Hermit.